"A Summer's Tale" **** (out of ****)It's a summer fling in Eric Rohmer's "A Summer's Tale" (1996).
Of all the great French filmmakers that were part of the Nouvelle Vague (the French New Wave) Eric Rohmer was the romantic. His films, almost exclusively, dealt with the trial and tribulations of young love. Any one of Rohmer's films would serve as an excellent example and "A Summer's Tale" is just as charming as any of Rohmer's other films.
"A Summer's Tale" was part of Rohmer's "Tales of Four Seasons" series and was the third entry coming after "A Tale of Springtime" (1992) and "A Winter's Tale" (1994). All four stories are love stories taking place in the season their title references. Each one is a masterpiece.
For "A Summer's Tale" we follow Gaspard (Melvil Poupaud), a young musician on vacation in Dinard, a seaside resort. Though if asked Gaspard would say he is merely on vacation he actually is waiting for the possible arrival of Lena (Aurelia Nolin). A girl he believes may be "the one". I say possible arrival because Gaspard and Lena have no definite plans to meet. She does not have a phone and is on her own vacation with her sister traveling through Spain. She mentioned to Gaspard her plans to arrive in Dinard, which he took as an encouraging sign. Maybe he will have an opportunity to tell Lena how he feels.
Of course in order to tell Lena how he feels she must show up first. The days go by and there is no sign on Lena but Gaspard is filling his time with Margot (Amanda Langlet), a waitress at a nearby restaurant. Together they walk and talk about love as Gaspard reveals his true intentions for visiting Dinard. The two seem to have chemistry between them and clearly enjoy each other's company.
Before you can say you have figured the movie out Rohmer stirs the pot just a bit more. At a party Gaspard attends with Margot he meets Solene (Gwenaelle Simon). Margot tells Gaspard he should pursue Solene and forget about Lena. Gaspard takes her advice and pursues Lena but has he really forgotten her? And is he starting to have feelings for Margot? And if he is, does Margot like him back, despite mentioning she has a boyfriend.
Gaspard doesn't have time to find out the answers to these questions because after weeks of waiting for Lena, she finally arrives. Their meeting is everything Gaspard had hoped it would be. Lena is very affectionate towards Gaspard which only reaffirms his belief she is the one. But what to do about the other two women whom he may have been leading on?
If you've ever been young and dumb you can probably relate to "A Summer's Tale" and relive your own days when you were in your 20s and love seemed to be full of possibilities but also a complicated mess.
Rohmer captures both of those feelings perfectly and plays up the complicated mess aspect for plenty of laughs.
"A Summer's Tale", to be clear, isn't a slapstick sex farce. No one is running in and out of bedrooms but the movie does keep raising the stakes. With the appearance of each women what will Gaspard do? Eventually he must choose one. Naturally he fears making the wrong choice.
Like so many other Rohmer films the charm of the movie lies in its dialogue. There is nothing cinematically "splashy" about Rohmer's films and "A Summer's Tale" in particular. Basically we see characters talk and express their ideas about love and romance. The charming factor is their words ring true. There isn't anything "Hollywood" about the movie. The characters speak as we do. There isn't witty banter with sharp one-liners being tosses back and forth. Most people don't speak that way on a date, do they?
The acting is also very low key and naturalistic. No one is acting it up. If you aren't familiar with French cinema, you would easily believe these characters are real people. There is nothing phony about any of these performances. We genuinely come to like these people and are happy to spend time with them. We want them to find happiness and sincerely want a happy ending. How often can you say that?
Some though may feel that makes "A Summer's Tale" sound boring. Rohmer has a reputation for only making movies where people talk. You'll hear some say "nothing happens" in one of his movies. His naysayers describe his movies as "watching paint dry". That isn't fair however. A lot is happening in "A Summer's Tale". Characters, the lead character in particular, are emotionally growing. The plot is moving forward. And why should we be so quick to dismiss dialogue driven movies especially when the dialogue is this good?
And you really need to pay attention to the dialogue here and catch all the nuances of the words and the performances. It is amazing that Rohmer was 76 years old when "A Summer's Tale" was released in theatres and even at that age he was able to capture the frustration of young love in ways younger filmmakers can't.
"A Summer's Tale" is a smart and observant film. Rohmer knows these characters and understands human relationships. We can see ourselves in these characters. This would be a fine film to serve as an introduction into the work of Rohmer. All of his traits are on full display. If "A Summer's Tale" doesn't win you over, Rohmer may not be for you. "A Summer's Tale" made my list of the best films of 1996. It really should not be missed.
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